scholarly journals Ant Diversity and Community Composition in Alpine Tree Line Ecotones

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Elia Guariento ◽  
Konrad Fiedler
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Wood Ants ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Grassland Habitats ◽  
Ant Diversity

Ants are crucial for the functioning of many terrestrial ecosystems, but detailed knowledge of their ecological role is often lacking. This is true for high mountains where a steep environmental gradient exists from mountainous forest, densely populated by ants, to grassland habitats above the tree line, harboring a sparse ant community. We assessed ant communities in and around the tree line ecotone on five slopes in the southern-central Alps, focusing on their species diversity, community composition, and functional dimensions. Species richness and functional diversity were highest directly at the ecotone. Ant community composition was shaped by elevation and shrub cover. Further, the abundance of the dominant mound-building red wood ants (Formica s. str.) influenced the community composition of the subordinate species. We conclude that over the tree line ecotone a shift in predominance from biotic limitations in the forest to abiotic filters in the alpine environment takes place.

scholarly journals Effects of the Invasive Little Fire Ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) on Ant Community Composition on UF Campus

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Nielsen ◽  
Rachel Atchison ◽  
Andrea Lucky
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Fire Ant ◽  
Invasive Ants ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Wasmannia Auropunctata ◽  
A Site ◽  
The University ◽  
Little Fire Ant ◽  
Litter Sampling

Invasive species are a serious threat to Florida’s native ecosystems and can have significant economic impacts. The invasive little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) was first observed on the University of Florida’s campus in the Field and Fork Gardens in Summer 2018 and a targeted eradication of this population began in Fall 2018. This project aimed to compare ant community composition in invaded and uninvaded areas to better understand how ant invasions affect native ant communities. For comparison with Field and Fork Gardens invaded sites, four additional sites on UF’s campus were surveyed for ants through leaf litter sampling. Samples were sorted and all ants identified to the genus level; samples from invaded sites were identified to species. In samples from invaded sites, the community had lower species richness and a lower relative abundance of ant species compared to uninvaded communities. Determining how the invasion of the little fire ant affects ant communities is important as invasive ants do not fill the same ecosystem roles as native ants, such as seed dispersal and mutualist interactions. Data on community composition in uninvaded areas could be useful in efforts to restore a site after eradication has been achieved.

scholarly journals Tree Preference and Temporal Activity Patterns for a Native Ant Community in an Urbanized California Woodland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan J. MacArthur-Waltz ◽  
Rebecca A. Nelson ◽  
Gail Lee ◽  
Deborah M. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Active Species ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Quercus Agrifolia ◽  
Temporal Partitioning ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Urban Woodland ◽  
Ant Diversity

AbstractAnthropogenic disturbances, including land use change and exotic species, can alter the diversity and dynamics of ant communities. To examine foraging behavior in an urbanized habitat in northern California, we surveyed the presence of 9 ant species on 876 trees across 4 seasons during both day and night in a 9.5-hectare urbanized oak-exotic woodland. Ants were more likely to be observed on native, evergreen trees, suggesting that native evergreen species may help maintain ant diversity. Species showed clear patterns of temporal partitioning of foraging activity. Ant species varied in their use of native evergreen Quercus agrifolia trees across season and day/night axes. Of the 3 ant species most frequently observed, Camponotus semitestaceus was most active during spring and summer nights, Formica moki was most active during spring and summer days, and Prenolepis imparis was most active during both day and night during fall and winter. Liometopum occidentale was the second most active species during summer day and night, and winter day. Our findings demonstrate that an oak-exotic urban woodland in Northern California was able to maintain a native ant community, and strong temporal partitioning within that community.

scholarly journals Small-scale drivers on plant and ant diversity in a grassland habitat through a multifaceted approach

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12517
Author(s):  
Michele Mugnai ◽  
Clara Frasconi Wendt ◽  
Paride Balzani ◽  
Giulio Ferretti ◽  
Matteo Dal Cin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Multifaceted Approach ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
High Conservation ◽  
Ant Diversity

Semi-natural grasslands are characterized by high biodiversity and require multifaceted approaches to monitor their biodiversity. Moreover, grasslands comprise a multitude of microhabitats, making the scale of investigation of fundamental importance. Despite their wide distribution, grasslands are highly threatened and are considered of high conservation priority by Directive no. 92/43/EEC. Here, we investigate the effects of small-scale ecological differences between two ecosites present within the EU habitat of Community Interest of semi-natural dry grasslands on calcareous substrates (6210 according to Dir. 92/43/EEC) occurring on a Mediterranean mountain. We measured taxonomic and functional diversity of plant and ant communities, evaluating the differences among the two ecosites, how these differences are influenced by the environment and whether vegetation affects composition of the ant community. Our results show that taxonomic and functional diversity of plant and ant communities are influenced by the environment. While vegetation has no effect on ant communities, we found plant and ant community composition differed across the two ecosites, filtering ant and plant species according to their functional traits, even at a small spatial scale. Our findings imply that small-scale monitoring is needed to effectively conserve priority habitats, especially for those that comprise multiple microhabitats.

A comparative assessment on ant communities in three vegetation types located at Mfou Suburban locality of Yaoundé (Cameroon)

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
TADU ZEPHIRIN ◽  
EDOA STEPHANIE ◽  
MESSOP YOUBI EDITH-BLANDINE ◽  
GUIBAÏ JEAN-PIERRE ◽  
FOMEKONG-LONTCHI JUDICAËL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indicator Species ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Secondary Forests ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Natural Landscape ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
S 100 ◽  
Ant Diversity

Urban expansion in Cameroon and many other Congo basin countries, involves the destruction of natural habitat previously colonized by a rich and diversified invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. In order to understand the dynamic of transformation of natural landscape into urban area on ant communities, a study was conducted at Mfou, a suburban agglomeration of Yaoundé. We aimed to evaluate the variation in ant diversity and ant community structure in relation to the type of habitat. Ants were collected on the ground and trees in cocoa farms, secondary forests, and palm groves using visual catch, pitfall traps, quadrat, and baits. We recorded 144 species belonging to 39 genera and 6 subfamilies. Cocoa farms (S= 102; H’= 3.83; E=0.83) were richer and more diversified than secondary forests (S= 100; H’= 3.83; E=0.83) and palm groves (S= 70; H’= 3.61; E=0.85). Myrmicinae, Formicinae and Ponerinae were the richest subfamilies both at genus and species levels. Based on their frequency of occurrence, Myrmicaria opaciventris (18.6%), Crematogaster striatula (17.1%), Crematogaster gabonensis (14.9%) and Camponotus crawleyi Emery, 1920 (14.2%) species were numerically dominant. Strumigenys sp.1, Strumigenys sp.2, Strumigenys sp.3, and Strumigenys sp.4 species were found only in secondary forests, suggesting the relatively stability of this habitat despite anthropogenic disturbance. Camponotus brevicollis, Technomyrmex sp.2 and Tetramorium guineensis were the indicator species in cocoa farms. In the secondary forests, Camponotus wellmani, Hypoponera punctatissima and Pheidole pulchella were found as indicator species while in palm groves H. punctatissima was the only indicator species.

scholarly journals High Diversity in Urban Areas: How Comprehensive Sampling Reveals High Ant Species Richness within One of the Most Urbanized Regions of the World

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 358
Author(s):  
François Brassard ◽  
Chi-Man Leong ◽  
Hoi-Hou Chan ◽  
Benoit Guénard
Keyword(s):  
Exotic Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
The World ◽  
Ant Diversity ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

The continuous increase in urbanization has been perceived as a major threat for biodiversity, particularly within tropical regions. Urban areas, however, may still provide opportunities for conservation. In this study focused on Macao (China), one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, we used a comprehensive approach, targeting all the vertical strata inhabited by ants, to document the diversity of both native and exotic species, and to produce an updated checklist. We then compared these results with 112 studies on urban ants to illustrate the dual roles of cities in sustaining ant diversity and supporting the spread of exotic species. Our study provides the first assessment on the vertical distribution of urban ant communities, allowing the detection of 55 new records in Macao, for a total of 155 ant species (11.5% being exotic); one of the highest species counts reported for a city globally. Overall, our results contrast with the dominant paradigm that urban landscapes have limited conservation value but supports the hypothesis that cities act as gateways for exotic species. Ultimately, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of ants within cities around the world to understand native and exotic patterns of diversity.

scholarly journals Can variation in seed removal patterns of Neotropical pioneer tree species be explained by local ant community composition?

Biotropica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selina A. Ruzi ◽  
Paul‐Camilo Zalamea ◽  
Daniel P. Roche ◽  
Rafael Achury ◽  
James W. Dalling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Seed Removal ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Pioneer Tree Species ◽  
Pioneer Tree

Ant community structure along an extended rain forest–savanna gradient in tropical Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura T. van Ingen ◽  
Ricardo I. Campos ◽  
Alan N. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Savanna Woodland ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Forest Regrowth ◽  
Tropical Australia ◽  
Ant Community Structure

AbstractIn mixed tropical landscapes, savanna and rain-forest vegetation often support contrasting biotas, and this is the case for ant communities in tropical Australia. Such a contrast is especially pronounced in monsoonal north-western Australia, where boundaries between rain forest and savanna are often extremely abrupt. However, in the humid tropics of north-eastern Queensland there is often an extended gradient between rain forest and savanna through eucalypt-dominated tall open forest. It is not known if ant community structure varies continuously along this gradient, or, if there is a major disjunction, where it occurs. We address this issue by sampling ants at ten sites distributed along a 6-km environmental gradient from rain forest to savanna, encompassing the crest and slopes of Mt. Lewis in North Queensland. Sampling was conducted using ground and baited arboreal pitfall traps, and yielded a total of 95 ant species. Mean trap species richness was identical in rain forest and rain-forest regrowth, somewhat higher in tall open forest, and twice as high again in savanna woodland. The great majority (78%) of the 58 species from savanna woodland were recorded only in this habitat type. MDS ordination of sites based on ant species composition showed a continuum from rain forest through rain-forest regrowth to tall open forest, and then a discontinuity between these habitat types and savanna woodland. These findings indicate that the contrast between rain forest and savanna ant communities in tropical Australia is an extreme manifestation of a broader forest-savanna disjunction.

scholarly journals On the biogeography of salt limitation: A study of ant communities

2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (46) ◽  
pp. 17848-17851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kaspari ◽  
Stephen P. Yanoviak ◽  
Robert Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Global Change ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
New World ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Forest Litter ◽  
Sodium Concentration ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Sodium Toxicity ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Essential Nutrient

Sodium is an essential nutrient whose deposition in rainfall decreases with distance inland. The herbivores and microbial decomposers that feed on sodium-poor vegetation should be particularly constrained along gradients of decreasing sodium. We studied the use of sucrose and NaCl baits in 17 New World ant communities located 4–2757 km inland. Sodium use was higher in genera and subfamilies characterized as omnivores/herbivores compared with those classified as carnivores and was lower in communities embedded in forest litter than in those embedded in abundant vegetation. Sodium use was increased in ant communities further inland, as was preference for the baits with the highest sodium concentration. Sucrose use, a measure of ant activity, peaked in communities 10–100 km inland. We suggest that the geography of ant activity is shaped by sodium toxicity near the shore and by sodium deficit farther inland. Given the importance of ants in terrestrial ecosystems, changing patterns of rainfall with global change may ramify through inland food webs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document